I put aside my shock.
If it was really Siegfried, it's not surprising to see his traces on Siberiaa. After all, this is the place where he and Kiana lived for some time.
Schicksal's influence is present in Russia. I won't be surprised if they have many branches in Siberia. Siegfried will choose this place to make a lot of trouble.
I thought of the techniques I learned these days. I learned a lot, and by that, a lot.
From 66, the techniques I learned reached 121.
The most abundant one is alchemy, reaching twenty-six techniques. It solidified my status as a walking almanac.
Next was qi cultivation, reaching twenty-one. I tried to create techniques that factored three-in-one effects.
Good news: I succeeded.
Bad news: They required a lot of stuff.
I am broke as hell. This is the honkai world. Where can I find the 'Heart of a True Dragon' here?
I resigned my fate as a broke cultivator and focused on spells. It reached twenty-five. Out of them all, I practiced three. The rest can be used as a reference of sorts. Knowing more is better than knowing less.
…
Right.
I discovered a spell that will track down blood relatives.
But…
It needs spiritual materials. The cycle goes back to me being broke as hell.
"Ugh…"
A low groan escaped from my mouth. Kiana did not notice it as she was preoccupied talking with the driver. She asked questions about the 'strong guy'.
Too bad we didn't receive much. Just that 'he' stopped in this town.
Nevertheless, it is enough to make Kiana excited. She asked to be taken into the bar.
The driver did tell us about a problem.
"Kids are not allowed."
"..."
I spoke up.
"It's alright. We can ask more locals around it. See if they can remember something."
She looked me in the eyes. After being silent for a while, she asked me something.
"What did you learn in your sect?"
"Um? This is common sense."
"..."
*****
Question: Is a twelve-year-old child smarter than me?
That was the crisis Kiana faced. She watched Shi Tian ask a couple more things to the driver before they got out. That knowledge led them to asking the locals near the bar.
"Strong? White hair. Da. Drunk too much."
"Yes! Beat up. Me. Me. Saw it."
"The local police showed up. It was quite a big deal back then."
After dozens of broken English and some understandable ones, they got the full picture.
It turned out that the fight started from the 'white hair guy' confronting some drunkards. The simple talks turned into a full-fledged fight with the 'white hair guy' leaving unscathed. Everyone else got broken bones.
Later on, they were taken in by the police for questioning. Nothing came after that.
The locals frequenting the bar did remember it.
"Finding someone…"
"The old man was arrested?"
Kiana and Shi Tian had different thoughts. The former was worried about Siegfried. The latter thought of what he wanted to do.
'He lived well until the Ryoma frame-up. I remember he got beaten up by World Serpent. Then…'
He could not recall the game's contents completely. It had been a long time since he touched anything related to Part 1. When 2026 came, Part 2 started. That involved Kiana and the rest being involved in the Honkai Star Rail universe.
Shi Tian can only place his hopes of having better memory in cultivation.
'What was he searching for? World Serpent? Or luring Schicksal?'
Knowing Siegfried, he can easily escape after beating up those men. The only reason he stayed and let himself get arrested was to draw Schicksal's attention.
As for being caught completely, that would not happen. He acted with Anti-Entropy since before the third eruption. There might be Anti-Entropy people underneath Schicksal's radar.
"Ugh… Is he a felon now?"
Kiana did not know what to feel.
"He shouldn't be." Shi Tian reaffirmed her. "Let's confirm it."
It took thirty minutes of asking around. The 'white hair guy' got out on bail and the case was settled.
The reason why some locals remembered it was due to one fact:
He had connections with the government.
"Hum. Cocolia or Ryoma…"
Shi Tian acted like a bonafide detective. His best forte was overthinking; his weak points are cute things.
He heard Kiana sigh out of relief. The entire escapade was a rollercoaster. From finding clues about her father up to his supposed release, it was straight out of an action drama.
"I think we can find it."
"Hm?"
"Connection to honkai."
Shi Tian came up with a plan.
*****
To be honest, I would rather not let Kiana meet with Siegfried. It is debatable whether his actions of diverting attention is effective to Otto. I am quite sure it is effective against World Serpent, however.
They are in hiding. It is evident when they hid in Arc City, Shenzhou. They don't have as many resources as THE Otto Apocalypse.
Once they meet with Kiana…
Nine out of ten, the entire thing in chapter… thirteen or fourteen?
Yup. It will play out.
Jackal is interested in a live Herrscher. Raven hates Kiana… or rather, the Second Herrscher, to the core. World Serpent is very interested in capturing or killing Kiana.
I can't fight them off now. We're screwed if we meet them.
Still…
"Did you find something out?"
I looked at her eager eyes. This is her hope of finding her father.
I can't stop her... for now.
"...I did."
My [Two Phase Art] converts all sorts of energy into spiritual qi. I set up the maximum distance, around two kilometers, and moved around the entire town. If there is a high amount of spiritual qi not far, that means we are close to honkai-related stuff.
My only doubt is the free energy thing. Whether it accepts the weapons' honkai energy is one thing. I am betting on their emissions instead. Honkai energy sticks on the surroundings even if the weapon is unused. I am hoping it is free energy.
That paints a target. It is more visible than the spiritual qi from other types of energy.
...
I hope it works.
I turned the technique on and off every few intervals. It minimizes the disturbance.
Around the one hour mark...
Oh shit.
It worked???
...
I found a place that stood out. It has the concentration of a middle first-grade spirit vein. It is the highest one from all the other places.
We walked around the entire town and saw where it was.
A gun shop.
Kiana went in front of me. She took the lead in entering this store.
Ring-!
What greeted my sight were guns. Tons of it.
I recognized some. The typical AK-47, the older Tommyguns, and an M16. I also spotted what looked like some pistols. Deagles or M45?
I am not familiar with this stuff.
I looked at the expert in front of me. She did not care about the guns and headed straight to the employee. I walked behind her and finished the operations for the [Two Phase Art].
In a blink of an eye, transparent blue gases appeared in several corners of the store. I saw the concentration of spiritual qi being higher in the door behind this cashier.
Surprisingly, the man himself did not have any spiritual qi. That meant he did not have any honkai energy inside his body—his store held items about it, though.
I stopped its operation seconds later. The man did not do anything unusual.
I tapped Kiana's back.
"Around the store. He must be an ordinary person."
"Um."
She nodded, indicating she knows what to do next…
Hopefully.